"I am moved by the fact that a child dies every two and a half minutes from diseases linked to open defecation. Those are silent deaths – not reported on in the media, not the subject of public debate. Let's not remain silent any longer" UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson (May 2014)

As Congress moves into budget and appropriations season for fiscal 2016, advocates have the opportunity to encourage policymakers to continue U.S. leadership in helping people in the world’s poorest places to become independent and build sustainable futures for themselves and their families.

Nestled between the bucolic hills of the Mukunguri Marshland lie paddy fields, where the members of the rice cooperative “Abahuzabikorwa” transplant rice seedlings for the new growing season. With the support of ICCO Cooperation, and its local partner UGAMA, farmers in Mukunguri received agricultural and managerial training.

Women are often disproportionately affected by armed conflict, yet are also often excluded from peace processes and seen as helpless and vulnerable victims in need of protection. This month we mark International Women's Day 2015 by celebrating women's progress toward greater political, social, and economic freedoms.

The unfolding outbreak of measles across the country has focused attention on whether parents should get their children vaccinated against measles and other diseases. This is a question the Red Cross answers approximately 100 million times a year around the world with life-saving vaccinations.

An estimated 200,000 Burmese migrants fuel Thailand’s huge fishing industry in Samut Sakhon province, an hour outside of Bangkok. The majority of workers are ethnic Mon from farming villages in southern Burma and they send their salaries to their families back home. Many workers do not hold legal documents and are vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers and lack access to legal protection.

I have always had the idea that after my retirement I would spend as much time as I could sharing my experiences with the next generation of surgeons. Working in Malawi, as an International Medical Educator with Physicians for Peace, I did not have to wait until retirement. Physicians for Peace trains healthcare professionals in their home countries – in their own hospitals and operating theaters.

Ten years ago, ownership was established as a key principle of aid effectiveness. Although understanding of ownership has evolved since then – most significantly, as something that involves not just governments but all parts of society – today the focus is not on whether ownership is important but on how we can move ownership from principle to practice. To date, these conversations have primarily concerned how to make ownership a reality in program design and implementation. InterAction supports these efforts, but believes they need to go one step further.

Pages

Blog with us!

Want to join the conversation? Create an account on our website and share your thoughts! If you run a blog and would like to discuss cross-posting, read our Guidelines for Guest Bloggers.

Blog Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in articles or comments on this blog by non-InterAction contributors do not reflect the opinions of InterAction or its employees. InterAction is not responsible for the accuracy of the information in blog articles written by guest contributors.

InterAction works to eliminate extreme poverty, uphold human rights, safeguard a sustainable planet and ensure human dignity for poor and vulnerable populations by advancing the goals of the U.S.-based international nonprofit community.